Behind the blue fist

Good to know old college friends are doing well, even if they’re on the other side. The Crazy Shepherd has a brief interview with Carrie Worthen regarding her creation, that annoying Blue Fist. She always had a thing for totalitarian imagery.

When this wave of legislative horrors began, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO staff created an image of a white fist in the shape of the state on a map of the Midwest. I was “The Clarifier”—I prettied-up and simplified the idea. It was spur of the moment and out of necessity, and grew from there.

It’s not new, though. The raised fist is a historic protest gesture that has appeared in worker, civil rights and solidarity graphics since at least mid-century.